Persuasive/Opinion Writing

1. Persuasive/Opinion Writing

2. Fact vs. Opinion FACT OPINION A person’s own thoughts, feelings, beliefs, or speculations There is no right or wrong! Examples: Friday is the best day out of the whole week Students should not be forced to wear uniforms The best subject in school is Physical Education Division 2 is the best class at Dogwood Elementary • Can be proven to be true or false • Today is Friday • Can be repeated over and over again and have the same result • Yellow and green make blue • Can be observed or historical • Canadian Confederation occurred on July 1, 1867

3. Where Would You See Fact and Opinion? FACT OPINION Political Speech Advertisements Social Media Blogs Advice Columns • Textbooks • Encyclopedias • Parts of the Newspaper • Non-Fiction Books • Dictionary

4. Should public schools implement uniforms? PROS CONS Safety Uncomfortable/itchy Cold in the winter Ugly, tacky, embarrassing No style or originality No choice Have to replace uniforms as you grow Cost/affordability: the school should pay for uniforms Have to learn how to tie a tie Possibility of rebellion/protest • No pressure of having certain clothes • No worries about what to wear • Safety • Fancy looking • Less expensive

5. What is Persuasive Writing? • Writing that tries to convince the reader to: • Agree with the author’s point of view • Believe OR change someone’s mind about something • Act a certain way • Buy a certain product

6. State your opinion about a topic Example: for or against school uniforms in public schools Opening Sentence To support your opinion Makes your opinion more convincing Example: Uniforms are itchy and uncomfortable Give Reasons Supports and strengthens your reason above Example: Students won’t be able to focus in class if they are uncomfortable. They may not want to go outside for Recess if they can’t run around in dress clothes. Restate Your Opinion Explain your Reason by Providing Examples and Explanations

7. ARE YOU CONVINCED?!? • I hope you decide not to force people in public schools to wear uniforms. They are ugly, tacky, and lack originality. • Students will be uncomfortable wearing itchy fabrics, tight dress shoes, neck-chocking ties, and kilts that don’t provide warmth.

8. ARE YOU CONVINCED?!? • I strongly disagree that buying uniforms will be cheaper. Not only do families have to buy the assigned garments (kilt, dress pants, cardigans), they also have to buy multiple dress shirts, socks, and ties in order for children to have clean clothes during the school week. Moreover, they will constantly have to be replaced when the child grows, which may amount to approximately eight uniforms throughout their public school education. What happens to families with more than one child attending Elementary or High School? To make the situation worse, uniforms may be damaged or ripped while children are playing, causing another replacement.

9. YOU TRY! • Use the pros and cons chart for implementing school uniforms to complete the next tasks • Think of your own example. Remember to include an: • Opening statement and opinion: do you agree with public school students wearing school uniforms? • Reasons: Give 1-2 reasons for why you agree or disagree with school uniforms? • Explain and give examples: explain your reasons to strengthen your argument • Opinion: Restate your opinion

10. ENJOY YOUR OREO!

11. Practice • Choose one of the following topics to complete your hand out: • Do you think it is a good idea for children your age to be dating? • Do you think parents should have access to their children’s social media passwords? • Your friend offers you drugs and/or alcohol at a party. Convince them that you do not want any and explain why it is bad for them.

12. Helpful Strategies to Make your Writing More Convincing

13. Appeal to the Reader’s Emotions • Convince the reader by bringing out feelings through their own imaginations • You probably convince your parents of something by using this strategy: • Example: “Mom, can I have a cell phone? There is evidence that cell phones save lives in emergency situations”

14. Address the Potential Objections • State both sides of an issue and point of view directly. Make it clear which side you support and discredit the opposing opinion • It stops the reader from forming an opinion that is against yours • The following phrases are ways you can address potential objections about a topic: • Although some people believe _____, it may actually be argued that _____. • Some people feel that _____. In reality, however, _____. • Despite _____, I want to argue that _____. • While it may be true that _____, the real point to consider is that _____.

15. Use Logical Conclusions • Logical conclusions come from assumptions and decisions from weighing solid facts and statistics • Use facts, numbers, or statistics to support your argument • Example: Cigarette smoke contains over 4,800 chemicals, 69 of which are known to cause cancer

16. Transitional Phrases and Words to Use in Persuasive Writing The following phrases and words can make your writing sound more convincing. They sound more confident than “I think” or “It seems that”. • Phrases to make your point: • For instance, for example, specifically, in particular, such as • Words to list reasons: • First, first of all, to begin with, second, secondly, in addition, next, lastly, finally, most of all • Phrases to transition between information: • Also, additionally, besides that, similarly, as a result, however, as a result • Phrases for conclusion and summarizing: • With this in mind, as a result, because of this, for this reason, since, finally, in short, in conclusion • Other helpful phrases: • I am certain, I’m sure that you can see that, I ask you to think about, It has come to my attention that, obviously, surely, If ____ were to happen, then, this can be fixed by

17. List of Other Helpful Strategies • Mention experts and famous/important people • Example: Commercials often hire celebrities to promote their brand. Most of the time, the celebrity little to no relation/connection to the product. • Build a sense of urgency for the cause • Repeat yourself and be consistent

18. Improve your Rough Draft! • Use the paragraph you were working on last week (dating at a young age, parents having access to passwords, saying no to drugs/alcohol) • Edit your rough draft and include at least 2 strategies that you learned about today: • Appeal to reader’s emotions • Address possible objections • Use facts, numbers, statistics • Use transitional words or phrases • Mention experts, celebrities, important people • Build a sense of urgency • After including at least 2 strategies, have a peer edit your work • Type out your good copy and hand it in!